(AKA Miss S B and The Yorksher Gob)

Entries tagged with trans

Something that has really warmed the cockles of my flinty old heart the last couple of days has been the number of people - of all genders, cis and trans*, from most sides of the political divides - who have come together to say "hang on a minute, THAT'S not on" to the way trans* people are being treated by the media. Slightly less gratifying is the way that this all seems to be centred on the media and how everyone on all sides is being mean to the media, and not on the actual people who are suffering - and if you need any proof of trans* people's suffering, check out the #transdocfail hashtag on twitter, also covered in the Grauniad and by Zoe; or maybe look into forced divorce - but that's par for the course. What has happened is that people are suddenly starting to pay attention to trans* folk and listen to their voices. This can only be a good thing in my view.

Obviously many of the articles over the last few days concentrate on Burchillgate. The ones that I am going to link to below constitute an interesting cross section for those who are feeling a bit lost as to what is going on.

On feminism, transphobia and free speech by Laurie Penny.Laurie argues that feminism and the trans* rights movement should be fighting for the same objectives: To learn that the world is not divided into ‘normal’ people and ‘freaks’ with you on the safe side is uncomfortable. To admit that gender identity, like sexual orientation, exists on a spectrum, and not as a binary, is to challenge every social stereotype about men and women and their roles in society. Good. Those stereotypes need to be challenged. That’s why the trans movement is so important for feminism today.

The Burchill controversy: a mixed blessing for the trans community by Zoe O'Connell.Regular readers might have noticed that I link to articles by Zoe a lot. This is because she is awesome. Read the very balanced and well-sourced article linked if you have any doubts on that. She has a way of summing things up that just slots nicely into my brain patterns. I'm not going to pull out a quote because I really think you should read the whole thing.

Julie Burchill, transphobia, and hostility towards the victims of oppression by Dean Burnett in the Grauniad.Dean is a neuroscientist, and in this piece theorises that the Just World Hypothesis might have something to do with the irrational way many people who are supposedly advocates for social justice are behaving on this issue. He also says that given... the Guardian's perceived poor track record in this area, I felt it was necessary to have at least one piece published under the Guardian banner that presented transphobia as illogical and irrational, which it definitely is.

What the hell is wrong with you people by Sarah Brown.Sarah is another of those people who I link to a lot because I think she's awesome. In this piece she comprehensively dismantles the idea that oppressed people and their supporters pointing out to bigots that they are being bigoted is an attack on free speech. This is something I struggle to understand myself. Surely if a person is free to speak then other people are equally free to respond? Isn't that what free speech means? I don't want to support the kind of free speech that's only free for the powerful and the rest of us have to shut up... The comments on this piece are also well worth reading.

Savile: Denialism and the "grooming the nation" delusion by Martin Robbins in The New StatesmanLest we think this is all high-falutin' academic discourse, Martin points out the very real dangers that all women, cis and trans, face in our rape apologist culture. I would argue that this also applies in different ways to racial minorities, genderqueer folks that don't fall under the banner of "women" for whatever reason, and basically anyone who does not conform to our society's rigid standards of "normality". Nobody should be enslaved by conformity, policed by loudmouths on the street, and that's why I am a Lib Dem, right there.

Hopefully those articles have given you a flavour of why I feel so strongly about this, even though it nominally doesn't affect me as a cis woman. Firstly, even though I'm cis, there are people I love who are not. Secondly, I don't want to see ANYBODY oppressed by the powerful because of who they are. People don't fit into neat little boxes of worthy and unworthy just because they fit into demographic groups of one sort or another. We are all individuals, and some of us have more struggles than others, but those of us who are struggling less should be helping those who are struggling more, not demonising them.

So if you're poor, I'm on your side. If you're black, I'm on your side. If you're disabled, I'm on your side. And if you're trans? Damn right I am on your side. Because at the end of the day, we all need to work on this, TOGETHER.

Steph and her Mom - This is what women in superhero comics should be"She’s an awesome superhero and it doesn’t matter that she’s a girl. And from charging in as Robin to a possible evolution as Nightwing, she proves it. That’s what women in comics could be. I think Steph not only exemplified what women could be in comics, but gave all women hope for better representation in comics. Hell, I felt like her entire struggle with self-worth, forging her own destiny and breaking into the Batboys’ club was almost allegorical of how women struggle within comics itself. Even on a meta level, it’s what women go through in an environment that is often hostile to them reading comics."(tags: comics )

Even I’m starting to wonder: what do this lot know about anything?"When Mrs Thatcher piled up the coal at power stations until the strike began in 1984, she was not inconveniencing the public. In 2012, the Coalition is trying to press-gang the public, without saying so, into its political battles. All those people queuing on the forecourts were pawns in a Government-organised blame-game."(tags: politics )

I DO NOT HAVE AN EATING DISORDER - Page 36"My mind does this little trick to all kinds of statements/compliments, not necessarily just those about my weight. Got one answer wrong on the test? Stupid. Someone comments that they miss your old haircut? Ugly. Showed up to the party but accidentally left the gift at home? You are the worst friend in the history of friendship. "
Yup, I know those feelings.(tags: )

How the Political Parties Exclude the General PublicIt's rare I'll link to anything on the egregious Tory tosser's website, but this is worth it, I think. Some of the criticisms made of "the three main parties" apply more to the big two than the Lib Dems - particularly on policy formation - but they still apply. For instance, in all seriousness, a potential candidate for our party being instantly and offhandedly dismissed as a possibility because they haven't put in enough YEARS delivering leaflets. That's just total fuckwittery IMHO.(tags: politics )

For the last time – yes, you can be feminine and play sports! « Fit and FeministI want to know why people find it so unsettling when they encounter a boy who wants to dress up like a princess or a girl who wants to cut her hair short and wear baggy pants. I want to understand why people are so horrified by trans* people and gender-queerdos. I want people to explain why they react so negatively to anyone whose gender expression fails to align with the expected markers. Can we talk about that? Can we talk about how a society that prides itself on freedom can come down so hard on the people who choose to actually exercise that freedom?
So not only would I like to ask that people stop acting as though athletic women are single-handedly perverting the natural order of things, but I’d also like to request that people stop it already with the obsessive gender policing. How about instead of focusing on whether or not people are good at being “men” or being “women,” we care more about whether they are good at being a decent human being? Can you imagine what this(tags: gendertrans )

Gender Guidance Group – Be Very Afraid | Sarah Brown's BlogI don't consider myself to be the most trans-aware person in the world; I just treat my trans and genderqueer friends as people, and respect that what they choose to do with their bodies is up to them, and use the personal pronouns and descriptions they would like me to use. Apparently, this makes me something of a radical, and certainly streets ahead of the medical professionals who are designated to help trans folk...
Seriously, how hard is it to respect other people's needs if they have no conflict whatsoever with your own? I don't get why so many people have difficulty with this. Just because somebody is doing something you would not choose to do does not give you the right to condemn them or denigrate them or treat them as anything less than the full human beings they are. Tossbags.(tags: trans )

About This Blog

Hello! I'm Jennie (known to many as SB, due to my handle, or The Yorksher Gob because of my old blog's name). This blog is my public face; click here for a list of all the other places you can find me on t'interwebs.

Please note that any and all opinions expressed in this blog are subject to random change at whim my own, and not necessarily representative of my party, or any of the constituent parts thereof (except myself, obviously).